esotericara's Profile

I like making big batches of pasta salads for lunches. It's so easy to scoop some into a container and go. With two people eating from it, you won't get sick of it too fast and it won't go bad!

Of this list, Lincoln probably. But the apartment in The Hunger Games was certainly striking. Even as a huge Lord of the Rings fan, I never really thought about how much I liked Bilbo's hobbit hole until The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. It's crammed with stuff without feeling messy. It's rich without being opulent. It has history to it and lots of useful things. In our recent move, I found myself thinking of Bilbo's hole and how I could make our living room more like it.

"I'm a weird combination of hoarder and purger. I'll hold on to a lot of random stuff, but once I get on a purging streak, there's no stopping me and nothing is safe."

Since we're moving to a new apartment next week, my life is basically a constant outbox. We have 4 trash bags and a box full of stuff to take to Goodwill. Once we move, I'm going to focus on those dresses and the white linen suit I've worn twice. However, I'd like to say that I'm not sure I've ever related to two sentences more than the above. That. is. me.

I wonder how much of this has to do with downsizing of homes. My husband and I have agreed that we won't buy a home until we've made more of a dent in my huge student loan debt. The result is that we'll be living in apartments for the foreseeable future. Although now we are planning to actually buy a dinner table (whoohoo!), I can't imagine inviting over 8-10 people in our 906 sq ft apartment. I'm not saying it's impossible, and I'm sure some people could do it...I'm just not one of those people.

I also wonder about work schedules. I know many of my friends, including myself, would have to actually take off work to prepare a meal like that. Someday I'd love to take some time preparing a meal that takes real work and serve it on my great aunt's china that I inherited, but how many people feel at liberty to lose pay to do something like that?

The result? We have a couple friends over sometimes. We eat from the slow cooker if it's a weeknight or have a roast chicken on the weekends. We're slowly working on getting a full set of matching stoneware plates, and are delighted to have matching drinkware and flatware from the wedding. And that will have to do for now.

I highly recommend Stuff You Missed in History Class and Stuff Mom Never Told You from HowStuffWorks.com. Lately I've been listing to the podcast of America's Test Kitchen and really enjoying it.

Rahr & Sons! It's a brewery in Fort Worth, TX that we love. Our go-to's are Ugly Pug and Blonde, but their Summer Wheat and Gravel Road are out now.

An oldie-but-goodie tip and adorable video! Keep 'em comin!

The biggest fight my fiance and I have ever had started at IKEA and l lasted HOURS afterward. I mean door-slamming, shouting obscenities across the parking lot, flurries of emails back and forth when he went to work the night shift. Within 24 hours we were laughing about it and learned the following things.

1.) "Interesting," no matter how sincerely intoned, is not an acceptable response to someone sharing their opinions about something. A little effort here goes a long way. Trust me.

2.) Decide what kind of trip it is. This is not to say that there can't be hybrids, but communicating whether you want to go to browse or to get a specific list of things is essential. Maybe say, "I have a list of these five things, but I'd like to test out some couches, too."

3.) Write stuff down or take pictures with your phone. If you like that lamp in the awesome fake living room, take a picture of the tag or use those golf pencils. Don't just assume you'll find it later. Or remember that you wanted to get it, even though it wasn't on your list. You'll remember, but only like a week later.

4.) Check for quantities on the website. DO IT.

I dice up half or a quarter of a Granny Smith and add it to my tuna salad. Since I hate celery and never use it, this makes a huge difference in the texture!

When I was a kid, we would sometimes bring our dogs inside for the night when the temperature dipped below 0 outside. I would get so excited and try to sit them all down in front of the TV and make them watch Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmations, All Dogs Go to Heaven...you name it. I think I even tried Aristocats. At least now I have SOME defense! And for the record, I would totally do this if I were leaving a dog inside for several hours. But you probably already figured that out.